
FOX Sports Research
It’s finally here. The first round of the NCAA Tournament, affectionately dubbed as “March Madness” will begin on Thursday, March 20th.
The 86th annual edition of the tournament will see the usual suspects try and win the national championship. But what truly makes the tournament special is how often we see smaller schools and underdogs make incredible runs, which is what really causes the “madness.” These underdogs are often called “Cinderella” teams, with fans trying to pick them out each year ahead of the tournament.
But what characteristics make up a Cinderella? And are there similarities among all the past ones?
FOX Sports Research dove into the data and identified several traits that comprise a Cinderella. First, we’ve highlighted a few notable Cinderella teams in recent memory to set up our analysis. Let’s take a look:
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- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
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